From what I can tell, there are basically two main types of things called motels. Beth and I spent most of three weeks on the road traveling from Denver to Missoula, by way of Kansas City. And I’ve found I like one type of motel a lot more than the other.
The first type is what I call the “classic” motor hotel. These were built along state and US highways both before and after WWII. They’re single story buildings in the shape of an I or L or sometimes U, where each room has a separate entrance. The idea is you can drive right to the door of your room, and park there. The buildings are usually just one room thick, so you only have – at most – a neighbor on the left and a neighbor on the right. There’s nobody upstairs, downstairs, or behind. According to Wikipedia, this type of motel was originally the only type.
Later, this type of motel started to fall out of style. Now, almost all road hotels are of a different type. This type typically is a two story building, with a shared main entrance. Individual rooms are accessed from a central hallway. Because of the design, you get more neighbors. In addition to having someone on the left and right, you get either an upstairs neighbor or a downstairs neighbor. And, like an apartment building with a shared hall, you get a neighbor across the hall. To make things really confusing, the Motel 6 chain builds new “motels” in this style even though they’re not formally motels.
From what I’ve noticed, the interstate highways typically have the newer type of motel, almost always national chains like Holiday Inn Express, Motel 6, Comfort Inn, etc. And older state and US highways typically have the older type of motel, almost always independently owned. We’ve been intentionally traveling a lot of US highways, and staying in a lot of the older style of motels with surprisingly good results.
I’ve decided I like the older ones for a few reasons. First, since they’re usually owned by individuals, the owner is onsite and cares about taking care of the place. Second, they’re more convenient for people traveling with a lot of heavy luggage, as we have been. I’d much rather just pull up and load our suitcases into our room, rather than go through an outer security door, down a hall, up some stairs, down another hall, and then through an interior door. Third, the older motels are much, much quieter. They have thicker walls between units, there aren’t as many neighbors, and the primary source of noise in newer hotels – from the hallway – isn’t there at all. Finally, the older motels are usually 30% to 50% cheaper than the less comfortable chain hotels. This was the real shocker. At first I assumed paying half the price for a room must mean the room was run down. But after trying several of them, I think it’s just that an individual owner/operator can make the place profitable without francise fees the big chain places have to cover.
There are just a couple downsides of the old style motels. First, since 95% of travelers stay in the newer style traveler hotels, there often aren’t reviews on Tripadvisor.com for the mom-and-pop places. Second, the independent motels almost never have a web presence. So the only way to get more information is to call them or just stop and inquire.
Have any experiences with either type of motel you’d like to share? Leave a comment!
I agree, old motels are more interesting. Here’s my post on motels we stayed at on this trip: http://bethpartin.com/motels-to-missoula/
I think the newer motels that you have described are geared more for business travelers. Small cities such as Missoula, or Warsaw for that matter, cannot attract the high end hotels many business travelers may be accustomed to, so the motel chains build the newer style buildings you show in the post to attract that clientele.
I would tend to agree that the smaller, older motels have a certain charm about them that may add to a traveler’s experience, but are they safe enough? In an age in which crime seems to be growing in frequency and violence, I would be concerned about my safety in a single floor motel such as the one shown in your post.
Do you feel safe in those motels? What if you were in just such a motel in Los Angeles?
Personally, I haven’t felt unsafe in any of the old type of motels. And I think any feelings of safety a traveler gets from the new type “motels” (thinking that only other patrons can get into the main hall) are an illusion anyhow. A ne’er-do-well could get into one of those type of hotels without any problem. The only motel I’ve stayed at in LA was the “old” type. There, I feel way less safe driving around on unfamiliar streets than in a motel of any design.
OK. I understand your trepidation about driving in LA. I don’t much care for it either.
When you get closer to Chicago next May, we have a nice place here you could stay, if you are so inclined.